Akron's Eviction Prevention Summit

Thank you to everyone who made the inaugural Eviciton Prevention Summit a success!

Click here to read the report from the 2022 Eviction Prevention Summit

View coverage of the Summit below:

‘Our future hinges on this’: Hundreds gather for Akron's first Eviction Prevention Summit (Akron Beacon Journal)
Photos: 2022 Eviction Prevention Summit (Akron Beacon Journal)
Akron hosts summit to mark Eviction Prevention Week (WKSU/Ideastream)
Eviction Prevention Summit attracts hundreds in Akron (News5)

You can now view the livestreamed videos from the Eviction Prevention Summit, held Thursday, April 28, 2022. Click the button below

Watch the Summit

About the Summit

The Eviction Prevention Summit is a collaborative community response to the eviction pandemic that has plagued Summit County for decades. Summit organizers believe that all individuals have a right to safe, healthy, affordable housing, regardless of income or socio-economic standing.

The 2022 Summit will invite renters, landlords, housing advocates, developers, public officials, nonprofit and for-profit leaders, and community members to come together to share experiences, learn from each other, and design innovative and collaborative solutions to forge a new pathway forward toward housing security and freedom.

Featured speaker

Matthew Desmond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Evicted, MacArthur Genius Fellow, and founder of EvictionLab.org

Planning Committee

Community Legal Aid
Fair Housing Contact Service
Akron Eviction Task Force
Akron City Council
Akron-Summit County Public Library
City of Akron Mayor's Office
East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation
Freedom BLOC
ML Schultze

Eviction in Akron

The "eviction capital of Ohio," Akron has the highest rate of eviction in the state and the 27th highest in the nation. Tough economic conditions, lack of affordable homes, poor housing conditions, a mostly older rental stock, and large swaths of still segregated communities have created a perfect storm of housing insecurity and inequity. Roughly one-third of Summit County residents rent their homes, and recent data suggest as many as 20% of them could be at risk for eviction, with minority renters making up a disproportionate percentage. This pre-existing crisis was intensified when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, making the notion of homelessness all the more dangerous.